Hello Library Friends! Wow...things are really moving fast here in my world.
First of all...THANK YOU for helping me set a new record for Summer Reading Program bookings! My previous record was 74 shows booked. Unfortunately, that record was set in 2020, so out of those 74 shows, I wound up doing...4. The summer of 2021 was quite a bit better, but not quite up to full steam yet. My goal for the summer of 2022 was to book 80 library shows.
As of today, I'm scheduled to perform 82 shows at 75 libraries in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota. Believe it or not, I still have a few spaces open, so there's a chance that number could still grow.
On Monday, April 11th, I sent out posters to 60 libraries (see photo). I'm also hand-delivering posters to some nearby libraries to save on postage. Now I'm starting to send out invoices to libraries. It's a time-consuming, but necessary job.
I've been "field testing" some of the tricks I'll be doing this summer. Whenever I visit a school or daycare to do a show, I throw in one or two of the "fishy" tricks, and they've been getting great reactions. A couple of tricks involving finding "Remo" (maybe you've heard of his cousin, Nemo), seem to be hits with the younger kids. The older children are amazed by some appearing fish and adults have given positive comments on the Flying Fish trick and the Fishing Worm trick. This show really does have something for everyone.
For those libraries having the iREAD theme this summer, don't worry...your audiences will LOVE the Reading Safari. It's definitely a fun, magical jaunt off the beaten path.
My summer season begins at 10 a.m. on May 25th at the Lied Winside Public Library in Winside, Nebraska and ends on August 3rd at the Onawa Public Library in Onawa, Iowa. I hope to be visiting YOUR library sometime in between!
